The battle for innovation in business models is heating up more than ever among major online retailers. After the Chinese giant Alibaba used drones to deliver orders , the multinational e-commerce company Amazon has filed the unusual patent application " Providing services related to item delivery via 3D manufacturing on demand ," aiming to pave the way for a mobile factory that would operate in a truck equipped with a 3D printer.
In practice, Amazon's system would have the following sequence:
1. Purchase: An online consumer views one of Amazon's sponsored e-commerce links , clicks on it, and is sent to the website where they purchase the desired product;
2. Manufacturing: the data entered on the website by the e-consumer is sent to the nearest mobile factory, where the product is 3D printed;
3. Delivery: while the product is being manufactured, the truck goes to the delivery location indicated by the e-consumer during purchase.
This mobile factory, of course, would work under a Just-in-time system, whose characteristic is the manufacture, storage and transport of products in the exact measure, without accumulation and waste of materials, time and space, which expands the market and generates more profit for the company.
If implemented, this system has the potential to revolutionize the e-commerce market , which currently relies heavily on logistics and shipping as key factors in customer engagement.
